Room 101 is a radio comedy series on BBC Radio 4 hosted by Paul Merton. Celebrities are invited to discuss their "least favourite people, places and pop songs" in order to have them consigned to Room 101.
 Logo for the 2023 revival | |
| Genre | Comedy |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 mins |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 5 (1992–94) BBC Radio 4 (2023–) |
| Syndicates | BBC Radio 1 |
| TV adaptations | Room 101 |
| Hosted by | Nick Hancock (1992–94) Paul Merton (2023–) |
| Original release | 9 January 1992 – present |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
History edit
It originally ran from 1992 to 1994, hosted by Nick Hancock. on BBC Radio 5, before transferring to BBC television in 1994 after Radio 5 was discontinued and replaced by its current format, BBC Radio 5 Live. Hancock was also the first presenter when the series transferred to television.
In January 2023, it was announced that the series would return to radio, this time on BBC Radio 4 and hosted by Paul Merton, who was the first guest on the original radio version and hosted the TV version of the series from 1999 to 2007.[1]
Episode guide edit
Room 101 edit
Series One (1992) edit
- Paul Merton (9 January)
- Jenny Eclair (16 January)
- Danny Baker (23 January)
- Arthur Smith (30 January)
- Steve Punt (6 February)
- Annie Nightingale (13 February)
Series Two (1992) edit
- Ian Hislop (14 August)
- Jo Brand (21 August)
- Tony Slattery (28 August)
- John Walters (4 September)
- Helen Lederer (11 September)
- David Baddiel (18 September)
- Stephen Frost (25 September)
- Donna McPhail (2 October)
Christmas Special (1992) edit
- Nick Hancock (22 December) – Guest host for this episode was Danny Baker
Series Three (1993) edit
- Frank Skinner (27 August)
- Trevor and Simon (3 September)
- Caroline Quentin (10 September)
- Tony Hawks (17 September)
- Rory McGrath (8 October)
- Kevin Day (15 October)
- Maria McErlane (22 October)
- Mark Lamarr (29 October)
Series Four (1994) edit
- Nick Revell (4 March 1994)
- Simon Delaney (11 March 1994)
- Chris England (18 March 1994)
- Andy Hamilton (25 March 1994)
Room 101 with Paul Merton edit
Series One (2023) edit
- Claudia Winkleman (24 May 2023)
- Desiree Burch (31 May 2023)
- Steph McGovern (7 June 2023)
- Mark Steel (14 June 2023)
- Phil Wang (21 June 2023)
- Julian Clary (28 June 2023)
Series Two (2024) edit
- Chris McCausland (3 April 2024)
- Hannah Fry (10 April 2024)
- Daliso Chaponda (17 April 2024)
Title edit
The title refers to the room in George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four which, for each person, represents the worst fear they can imagine. Appropriately, this is supposedly named after a conference room at BBC Broadcasting House where Orwell used to sit through tedious meetings.